Macan 2014 Porsche Macan First Drives and Reviews

[Kilcrohane]

Macan being tested by hacks in Morocco, where:

Richard Bremner, a freelance scribbler and ex British Leyland and Austin Rover marketing exec, and Stan Papior, a snapper, both doing a piece for Autocar, arranged to deliberately beach the Macan they were testing and have it pictured stuck by fellow JLR-pusher Gavin Green of UK car magazine Car and being towed out in ignominy by a Dacia Duster - which was actually Papior's camera car.

Ha ha, jolly japes by those fun-loving, zany English people again! Alternatively, sad, desperate, lying w*nkers, realising the Macan is already raping the Evoque, try to make a "let's make the Macan look sh!t off-road" with a seemingly innocent but 100% contrived, pretend anonymous incident, and have it go viral on Twitter, and hopefully sabotage fatally the Macan against the 'off-road king' Evoque.

It worked to an extent, with sites like the notorious anti-German Carscoops.com and some members here jumping on it with glee, but then for every sad stunt pulled by the increasingly desperate and pathetic lowlifes at Haymarket's Autocar, Pistonheads, Car magazine... , also known collectively as JLR Marketing, there are vids like this below, which show the Macan to be outstanding, and making the Evoque look like the cynical, nasty joke it is:

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[martinbo]

Attended the SA launch of Macan last night. Man oh man, Uncle Tobi still knows how to launch a car in style! Polished perfection.

Macan, like its bigger sibling, is very spec-sensitive when it comes to looking good vs. looking great in the metal. Porsche really do get this job right of imbuing the top-flighter turbo models with extra visual appeal that immediately draws the money in that direction. All in all a good looking vehicle on the outside with a simply sublime, inviting interior. Steering wheel alone is a thing of beauty. Down low, out of site there are lightweight cheaper plastics but you have to be pedantic to seek these out. Leg room in the sit-behind-self of 6.1" self reveals adequate legroom. Boot floor space is impressive but robbed of volume by the steeply raked tailgate.

Hugely desirable, massively expensive down here in SA however. One thing you can't say about it is that it is good value for money. Put it this way: you can get a nearly new Cayenne Turbo(!) with all the mod-cons for the price of a loaded, air-suspended brand-new Macan Turbo.

 

[Kilcrohane]

Hugely desirable, massively expensive down here in SA

- it's your currency, Martin, not Porsche ripping people off per se. £43k for a 340 hp petrol 'S' in UK is excellent value by contrast.

Put it this way: you can get a nearly new Cayenne Turbo(!) with all the mod-cons for the price of a loaded, air-suspended brand-new Macan Turbo.

- just wait until the facelifted Cayenne comes out end of this year - that'll be Porsche's opportunity to 'realign' its SA Cayenne pricing to reflect the slump in the rand in the meantime - you can bet on that.

 

[Betty Swollocks]

realising the Macan is already raping the Evoque, try to make a "let's make the Macan look sh!t off-road" 'anonymous' vid, and have it go viral, and hopefully sabotage fatally the Macan against the 'off-road king' Evoque.

If they wanted to "sabotage" the Macan why would they go for the "it's crap off road" angle, when 99% of these cars are not going to be driven off road? Most people would think "that doesn't bother me".

The reality is, a lack of discounts, higher selling price and perceived running costs of the Porsche are going to be the real reason people plump for the Evoque and not the Macan when making their decisions between the two, which as it happens I don't think is that common anyway.

 

[martinbo]

Betty, in all honesty though - Evoque is nowhere near Macan in terms of technology, quality, desirability and so on... Macan is the real deal (expensive or not) as a product goes and the Evoque is mutton dressed up as lamb; style over substance. In my opinion, the two ought not to be compared as this would be an injustice to the Macan. It's on a totally different level - especially under the skin.

 

[Betty Swollocks]

Betty, in all honesty though - Evoque is nowhere near Macan in terms of technology, quality, desirability and so on... Macan is the real deal (expensive or not) as a product goes and the Evoque is mutton dressed up as lamb; style over substance. In my opinion, the two ought not to be compared as this would be an injustice to the Macan. It's on a totally different level - especially under the skin.

Oh I completely agree, to the point that I didn't think that even needed mentioning. In a round-a-bout way I summed up my feelings in my last sentance....

".....which as it happens I don't think is that common anyway"

In other words, who in their right mind is faced with the choice of choosing between the Macan and the Evoque, and is picking the JLR? I really don't know why @Kilcrohane is even mentioning the Evoque and the Macan in the same sentance.

 

[Giannis]

I really don't know why @Kilcrohane is even mentioning the Evoque and the Macan in the same sentence.

Because some JLR product is behind every major evil of this world, and a Macan is considered expensive, let alone evilly expensive in South Africa, therefore with a Monty Pythonesque application of the principles of logic and etymology, a JLR product and Macan can be mentioned in the same sentence.

 

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

Deliveries start 5/17.

 

[Sayyaaf]

^ started where I live. My sister's will be delivered 25th/May since she wanted non-launch colors (silver)

 

[klier]

Deliveries start 5/17.

...in the U.S.....

I really don't know why @Kilcrohane is even mentioning the Evoque and the Macan in the same sentance.

Me neither, a base Macan is almost twice as expensive where we live. It's like comparing an X1 to an X5.

 

[Kilcrohane]

If at first you don't succeed... :

'Why the mighty Porsche Macan wouldn't make it onto my driveway'

http://www.autocar.co.uk/blogs/anything-goes/why-mighty-porsche-macan-wouldnt-make-it-my-driveway

...try, try again:

'PORSCHE MACAN: TELL ME I'M WRONG'

http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=30193

Haymarket's hacks now repeated, barely veiled, crude attempts to kick the Macan, are counterproductive, as they advertise the desperation these media lackeys and hence their paymaster, JLR, must be feeling as they see the Macan become a hugely in-demand 'it' car, going for up to £90k secondhand, sold out for months and months ahead, creaming off all the previous margin-rich sales of £50k+ Evoques, and of course reeking of cringeworthy rank hypocrisy, as the sole real issue they can pick with the Macan is:

'it's just a way overpriced, Audi Q5 in drag, that puts style above function'

er, isn't their beloved JLR Evoque the arch prototype of vastly overpriced, 'mutton dressed up as lamb', style over function, cynical taking the piss-ness?

Thanks Haymarket lickspittles Matt Saunders and Dan Trent anyway, for confirming publicly what most had already guessed: the Macan has gone through JLR and its media lackeys like a dose of laxatives - scared the shit out of them.

 

[rollo]

Just went over 1,000 miles on my Macan Turbo and have started to give it a little more gas. I absolutely love this car. The PDK is a hoot, the PASM and air suspension seem to provide the best of both worlds insomuch that regular mode is refined and compliant while the sport mode changes the car into a very entertaining driver.

I will post more comments and observations along with additional pictures after I return from vacation over the 4th of July.

If you have the chance, drive one and make up your own mind.

 

[Kilcrohane]

+++ Porsche humiliated; Land Rover Range Rover Evoque thrashes Macan! +++

'Range Rover Evoque shows better off-road chops than Porsche'

Stunning victory for Brit icon, the Stunning Land Rover Range Rover Evoque*:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...er-off-road-chops-than-porsche-265359871.html

*disclaimer: this 'stunning'(TM) victory over the filthy Hun was brought to you by impartial LandRoverSanAntonio. please come and visit us, as the awesome off-road Macan is tearing us a new arsehole and leaving stocks of the 'stunning', read, overpriced shit, Brit off-road - due to being in the shop again - LandRoverRangeRoverPoshSpiceDesignSpecialEditionAutobiographyOrangePaintfromjust$65,000 Evoque, backing up on the parking lot, blocking entry for our employees. have a nice day y'all!

 

[Kilcrohane]

FFS, nothing like going and advertising your desperation:

'Although the 2015 Porsche Macan officially went on sale last month[in the US], buyers may have to wait at least six months' [- due to huge demand.]

just 24 hours later...

'Range Rover Evoque shows better off-road chops than Porsche'

who says? Land Rover of San Antonio.

F'ing hilarious to see a 100% PR-construct brand imploding and committing hara-kari.

 

[JHF]

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[martinbo]

Gave the Macan S a stonking good extended test drive around familiar roads today.

Best sporting SUV I have ever driven. It's actually rather unbelievable. More thoughts a little later...

 

[klier]

Cool, can't read to wait more....errr....

 

[Rainer271]

Cool, can't read to wait more....errr....

I think you mean "can't wait to read more".

 

[rollo]

Gave the Macan S a stonking good extended test drive around familiar roads today.

Best sporting SUV I have ever driven. It's actually rather unbelievable. More thoughts a little later...

The turbo kicks it up another notch. First time with PDK Martin? It is for me and I love it.

 

[martinbo]

Hey R, long time no speak.

Nope, I'm pretty familiar now with PDK Gen 2 given that I have a kind friend who lets me drive his 981 Cayman S. I can only imagine how much more intense the Macan Turbo is... lucky fish - I'm openly jealous.

Right, on to Macan S. The car I drove was fitted with steel springs, PASM, steel brakes and speed-sensitive steering. Initial impression of the steering setup was that it felt over-assisted at parking lot speeds. The engine sounds good, despite being unintrusively muted, at idle speeds and the overall driving position can't be faulted. Good seats, stunning - as is seemingly the norm with new Porsches these days - interior design and perceived quality. Steering wheel is a tactile delight and the gear selector paddles feel perfectly placed. Small, oddly shaped rear-view mirror is the only criticism I can reasonably give to what is otherwise a sublime interior ambience. Space is acceptable for a relatively compact SUV and only when you see it parked alongside the Cayenne do you get a true perspective on how much smaller the younger sibling is. In short the interior feels expensive and impeccable.

On the move; one thing that always surprises me is how flimsy and incongruously cheap the control stalks on the steering column of modern Porsches feel. That's weirdly one of the first impressions when you're indicating to join a junction. It's very typically Porsche though and, well, at least it's familiar to existing owners. The first part of the test drive involves a typically poor, overused section of Joburg's northern suburbia blacktop. And the immediate realisation is how simply marvellously this fancy crossover rides. How a car with such an immediately perciptible sporting bent glides over pocked and scarred tar with such composure is a revelation. Porsche are just ridiculously good when it comes to suspension kinematics; how they manage to achieve such a remarkable balance between control with suppleness is beyond me. Ride and handling is thus faultless for the type of vehicle though the same can't be said for the variable-effort steering which somehow isolates the driver from the road surface. Some will regard this as refinement.

The engine is surprisingly creamy and smooth with a nice restrained but bassy soundtrack. With 250 kW, urge is strong rather than alarming but it's the PDK transmission which once again blows my mind. It works beautifully in the Macan S by being both smooth and rapid. Handling dynamics are simply top-drawer; roll control and turn-in rotation are simply unfathomable for a car 205 mm off the ground.

I'd be hard-pressed to find any material fault with this car. Except perhaps the price. Which is wild down here... But then again, on the road, the Macan S really does feel like a million bucks. It's that good.